Other Names

Team Information

Team

Team Members

Robot Statistics

Weight

98kg

Dimensions

0.65m x 1.38m x 0.79m

Power

2 x 800W Electric Motors

Weapons

Flipper & axe

Robot statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt

Iron-Awe was a series of robots which participated in Series 4, 6 and 7 of Robot Wars, also competing in the second series of Robot Wars Extreme. The team also entered Series 5 with Axe-Awe. After the original Iron-Awe fell in the second round of Series 4, Iron-Awe 2 competed in Series 6 and Extreme 2, but without great success. Iron-Awe 2.1 was the most successful of the team's machines in UK Robot Wars, reaching the Heat Final after flipping the seeded Bigger Brother out of the arena in its second round battle, before falling to the eventual champion Typhoon 2. However, it was repaired in time to win the Axe Attack special event.

The robot's name was a pun on "iron ore", a mineral used to make iron.

Contents

NOTE: This section only includes televised versions of Iron-Awe. Other versions of Iron-Awe which competed at live events are detailed further down the page, including two versions which attempted to enter Series 8. Axe-Awe is considered to be a separate competitor.

The original Iron-Awe which entered Series 4 was a box-wedge shaped robot, made mostly from packaging metal and aluminium. Iron-Awe's weapon was a 3kg felling axe on a wooden handle, powered by CO2 at 175PSI. It also had an additional cylinder behind the axe head. The power behind the axe led to it being the first robot to self-right by using an axe. The main axe support and motor shell were made of steel, but with the 80kg weight limit being a problem, Iron-Awe ended up much shorter than intended, and holes were drilled into the bodyshell to keep Iron-Awe under 80kg. It was driven by tracks, which were powered by Bosch motors. The team chose to use tracks in order to create more traction and a zero turning circle.

However, the robot moved fairly sluggishly due to its poor choice of batteries, and the robot was generally unreliable.

"The batteries, 2 Hawker SBS15’s, were the items that ultimately led to our demise in the wars. The fact that they were 5 years old probably didn’t help combined with the huge amount of power needed just to turn the tracks."

After competing in Series 5 with Axe-Awe, the team returned to Series 6 with Iron-Awe 2. It retained the weapon combination of Axe-Awe, that being a powerful front flipper, with the robot's signature axe resting on top to strike the surface of the flipper. The power of these weapons was now much greater than that of Axe-Awe

"After Robot Wars 5 we carried out some modifications to the plumbing on the axe circuit and managed to achieve a significant performance improvement. However, it became clear after this that the axe on Iron-Awe 2 would have to have a counterbalance weight, as without it the robot leaps about 8" in the air on firing!!"

Iron-Awe was built on a 40mm square aluminium box section frame, originally part of a workshop table and was sourced from a local scrap yard. Kart wheels were chosen to carry the robot, because of the size:weight ratio. The flipper could lift a ton, the robot was manoeuvrable and had self-righting capabilities but was easily flippable.

Jayne Middlemiss: "Are you stronger with the flipper or stronger with the axe"

Gilbert Grimm: "We're pretty strong with both of them!"

— Team Iron-Awe's confidence in their balanced weaponry

Iron-Awe 2.1 in the pits.

The Series 7 entry Iron-Awe 2.1 was largely the same robot as Iron-Awe 2, but had improved manoeuvrability and a lower ground clearance, as the team had abandoned the kart wheels of Iron-Awe 2 in favour of small aluminium wheels. Both weapons now operated at approximately one-tenth of a second, and also featured rear spikes to prevent Iron-Awe from getting stranded on its flat rear panel, as it had been in the Series 6 qualifiers. Its top armour was now coloured yellow instead of black.

Despite having control problems in its Series 4 qualifier, Iron-Awe managed to defeat Bolt from the Blue after an axe blow immobilised it, and qualified for the series.

Iron-Awe 2 at the Sixth Wars qualifiers

In its Series 6 qualifier, Iron-Awe 2 fought Dantomkia, Maximus and Destruct-A-Bubble. After Dantomkia managed to stand Iron-Awe 2.0 up on its back with its axe hanging over the perimeter barrier of the arena, it proved unable to self right. Despite losing, the team was given a discretionary place to compete in the Sixth Wars.

In its Series 7 qualifier, Iron-Awe 2.1 fought three robots, including Mute. Of the four, only Iron-Awe 2.1 and Mute qualified for the series.

Iron-Awe 5

When Robot Wars returned for its eighth series in 2016, Team Iron-Awe applied with two versions of the robot that they had built since the show went off-air; Iron-Awe 5, a full-pressure flipper with a sloped wedge design, and Iron-Awe 7, a wider, conventional wedge, also with a full-pressure flipper. Neither were selected to compete, and it is unknown if the team applied for Series 9.

"The Grimm family have their mighty axe weapon, a zero turning circle. It's electrically powered. Most parts come from packaging machinery. They have steering problems, but could this be the 'grim reaper' of the competition?"

— Jonathan Pearce introducing Iron-Awe in its first appearance

Mortis lifts Iron-Awe

Iron-Awe had a very slow and ponderous first fight in the Fourth Wars against the 23rd seeds Mortis and fellow newcomers Mazakari, being pushed around by Mortis a few times. In actual fact, a lot of the action involving Iron-Awe was edited out, instead focusing on Mortis pushing Mazakari around the arena. Iron-Awe appeared to be immobilised near the end of the battle and was picked up and nearly pitted by Sir Killalot, toyed with by the rest of the House Robots. However, despite the perceived immobility of Iron-Awe, the Judges declared that Mazakari would instead be eliminated, putting Iron-Awe through to the second round.

Steg 2's flipper in action

"Will it be Iron all washed up?"

— Jonathan Pearce

In the second round, Iron-Awe was drawn against the 7th seeds Steg 2. Both robots started slowly, but eventually it was Steg 2 that made the first move, flipping Iron-Awe. This allowed Iron-Awe to become the first robot in the history of the show to successfully self-right with an axe, but Iron-Awe was flipped more times by Steg 2. Although it righted each time, the House Robots eventually closed in and Sir Killalot cut its axe off. The judges ruled Iron-Awe out and the seventh seeds through.

Iron-Awe under Natalie Cassidy

Iron-Awe becomes immobile against Pussycat

Iron-Awe returned to fight in the Celebrity Special, where it was driven by actress Natalie Cassidy. In Round 1 against Pussycat, recent runners-up for the main competition, Iron-Awe moved very slowly at the start, firing its axe, but failing to hit Pussycat. After Pussycat rammed it and drove up its wedge, Iron-Awe got a few axe blows in, but failed to do any damage, apart from knocking off Pussycat's decorations. After Pussycat slammed into Iron-Awe, breaking Natalie's vanity plate, Iron-Awe appeared to stop moving. Thought it regained mobility after an attack from Dead Metal, it did not matter; the rest of the house robots joined in, with Matilda flipping it over. Iron-Awe tried to self-right, but just ended up on the flame pit, where its decorations burned off while Sir Killalot snapped off its axe. Finally, Sir Killalot picked up Iron-Awe and finished it off by lowering it into the pit. Natalie Cassidy then later joined her EastEnders co-star Adam Woodyatt with the Cold Fusion Team and Pussycat, coming out as the eventual winners.

Team Iron-Awe entered Series 6 with Iron-Awe 2 and came up against the 5th seeds Chaos 2, newcomers Destructosaur and veterans Mighty Mouse in the first round. The team were happy with this draw, confident that they could damage Chaos 2.

Philippa Forrester: "You're up against Chaos 2, guys."

Gilbert Grimm: "Yep. We've always wanted to fight Chaos 2."

Philippa Forrester: "What are you going to get them with?"

Gilbert Grimm: "They're very worried about this axe."

— Misplaced confidence from Team Iron-Awe

Chaos 2 flips out Iron-Awe 2

Iron-Awe 2 started fairly well, axing a hole in Destructosaur's armour just as Chaos 2 flipped Destructosaur, holding the rollover design in place, where it did not recover. However Iron-Awe then moved too close to the arena wall, and began spinning in place. This allowed Chaos 2 to get underneath Iron-Awe 2 before it could drive away, and Chaos 2 pushed it against the arena wall to flip it over the arena wall, meaning Iron-Awe 2 had lost to the Chaos 2 machine it wished to defeat, as well as Mighty Mouse.

"I think the next robot, we'll have to put wings on it. It's getting quite annoying, this 'flying out of the arena' business!"

Iron-Awe 2 took part in the Challenge Belt competition in Extreme Series 2. In the first round, it fought two Heat Finalists from the Sixth Wars in Barber-Ous 2 and Vader, as well as the reigning fourth place Terrorhurtz. Iron-Awe 2 started bravely by attempting to flip over Terrorhurtz, but Terrorhurtz toppled back onto its wheels. Iron-Awe 2 was then attacked by the spinning drum of Barber-Ous 2, the impact turning Iron-Awe 2 over, but it was able to self-right. After being attacked by Vader, Iron-Awe 2 was able to axe through the plastic shell of Barber-Ous 2, but when Iron-Awe attempted to retract its axe, the weapon proved to be stuck tight, and Iron-Awe 2 pulled itself over. Still stuck in Barber-Ous 2, Iron-Awe 2 was left with no way to self-right. Although Iron-Awe 2 was completely immobile, Vader had already been counted out, and Terrorhurtz pushed Barber-Ous 2 into the pit. The battle was sent to a Judges' decision to confirm whether or not Iron-Awe 2 was mobile enough to progress, but the Judges declared that Barber-Ous 2 had been immobilised before Iron-Awe 2, so the Grimm family progressed alongside Terrorhurtz.

Iron-Awe wedges under the floor spinner

Iron-Awe sits outside the arena

In the second round against series semi-finalist Dantomkia, Iron-Awe entered with a lowered ground clearance, in an effort to breach Dantomkia's wedge. However, this did not work favourably for Iron-Awe, as it drove underneath the Disc of Doom, where it became stuck, offering Dantomkia an opportunity to attack. Iron-Awe 2 resorted to fleeing, and only had two chances to fire its axe before being caught broadside by Dantomkia, which threw it into the arena entry gate, and out of the arena. This proved to be the third time a Team-Iron Awe robot was thrown out of the arena, once again eliminating it.

The team returned for Series 7 with Iron-Awe 2.1, and in the first round it fought three newcomers to the UK wars DisConstructor, Xenomorph and Hammerhead 2 in the first round. Iron-Awe 2.1's questionable first move was to chase Refbot, and it sustained a glancing blow from DisConstructor, but Iron-Awe 2.1 was then able to launch Hammerhead 2 over, and onto Xenomorph. Iron-Awe continued to dominate the battle alongside DisConstructor, flipping Xenomorph back onto Hammerhead 2, and at this point, DisConstructor drove into the pit, giving Iron-Awe 2.1 a strong chance to progress. It buried its axe into a gap in Hammerhead 2's frame and dragged it back, flipping it again, while surviving a glancing blow from Xenomorph.

"For me it would be Iron-Awe, certainly at this stage, because they've been the more aggressive and the more experienced, the more stylish, if it goes to a Judges' decision"

— Jonathan Pearce on the most aggressive robot in the battle

Iron-Awe 2.1 uses its axe on Xenomorph

With assistance from Hammerhead 2, Iron-Awe buried its axe into Xenomorph and flipped it once again, leaving it with limited mobility, but regardless Iron-Awe 2.1 flipped Hammerhead 2 again, and curiously drove under Sgt. Bash. Iron-Awe 2.1 finally seemed to slow down towards the end of the battle, but still penetrated Xenomorph's tyre with its axe, but then drove straight under Sir Killalot and surprisingly managed to lift it from the arena floor. Iron-Awe 2.1 caused further embarrassment to the House Robots, removing the LED eyes from Sir Killalot. Iron-Awe kept away from danger until 'cease' was called, where the battle was sent to a Judges' decision, where Iron-Awe 2.1 qualified alongside Hammerhead 2. In the second round, Iron-Awe 2.1 had a much more unfortunate draw against the fourth seed, Bigger Brother.

"We always get a difficult second round. This is no exception. However, we have fought Bigger Brother before. We know they're a good robot, we have on occasion beaten them, so we know they can be beaten, and we have the weaponry to do it."

— Gilbert Grimm

Iron-Awe 2.1 is hoisted by Bigger Brother

Iron-Awe 2.1's finest moment

Going into the battle with Bigger Brother, the team told Jayne Middlemiss their tactic of using Iron-Awe 2.1's axe, claiming their weapon can pierce 4mm steel, while Bigger Brother's top armour was only 1.5mm steel and polycarbonate. However, Iron-Awe 2.1's first axe attack missed completely, and the robot was thrown over by Bigger Brother. Iron-Awe 2.1 failed to self-right, and Bigger Brother pressed it against Refbot and hoisted it into the air, and back onto its wheels.
This proved to be a turning point, as in a surprise move, Iron-Awe 2.1 capitalised on Bigger Brother's moment of vulnerability while it was stuck behind Shunt, and Iron-Awe 2.1 flipped Bigger Brother onto the arena wall, where it toppled out.

"They get knocked out every year, they're always flipped out of the arena, and this time... they've flipped you!"

Iron-Awe 2.1 met the incredibly destructive Typhoon 2 in the Heat Final. The team were confident, saying they did not mind who they fought out of Typhoon 2 and Hammerhead 2, planning to flip Typhoon 2 over and leave it there. However, Iron-Awe faced immediate difficulty, as a slippery substance covered the arena floor for Sir Killalot's benefit, and Iron-Awe could not gain traction. As a result, it failed to catch Typhoon 2, which was constantly increasing its spinning speed. Upon contact, Typhoon 2 buckled Iron-Awe's flipper after a few blows. Iron-Awe 2.1 tried to hit Typhoon 2 with the axe, but failed. Typhoon 2 then sent Iron-Awe 2.1 flying towards Shunt's CPZ, where it was counted out. Sir Killalot picked it up and carried it to The Drop Zone, where a gas cooker was dropped on it. There, Iron-Awe 2.1 was eliminated at the Heat Final stage.

Iron-Awe axes the immobile Kat 3.

The team put the robot back together to take part in the Axe Attack battle against Hydra and Kat 3. Iron-Awe 2.1 was attacked repeatedly early on by the axe of Hydra and was pushed into the arena wall. Meanwhile, Kat 3 had become immobilised and was counted out. Iron-Awe 2.1 was pushed into the CPZ by Shunt, but escaped. From then on, both robots began to attack the house robots. Hydra flipped over Shunt and Iron-Awe 2.1 attempted to flip over Cassius Chrome, but was unsuccessful. Refbot then activated the pit release button, and Hydra drove onto the pit just as it began to descend and was eliminated, leaving Iron-Awe 2.1 as the sudden winner.

The latest versions of the robot, Iron-Awe 5 and Iron-Awe 6, made their first appearances at the new Robot Wars live events in Colchester in April 2013. Both also fought at Widnes in May 2013 where Iron-Awe 6 got to the semi-final only to be beaten by the team's fellow robot Iron-Awe 5, which went on to win the event. Iron-Awe 6 was later retired, as its components became used in the new version of Ripper. Iron-Awe 7 was built to replace Iron-Awe 6, and now competes alongside Iron-Awe 5 at live events.

Iron-Awe 5 and Iron-Awe 7 both fought at the Robot Wars World Championship, held at Colchester in 2015. Iron-Awe 5 threw Tanto out of the arena in the first round, but still lost the resulting Judges' decision to Thor and Tiberius. Iron-Awe 7 performed better, throwing Weird mAlice out of the arena in the first round, a battle from which it qualified alongside Nuts when Meggamouse drove into the pit. Iron-Awe 7 lost in the second round via Judges' decision, as the winner of the battle, Manta, threw Dystopia out of the arena.

Both versions made their 2016 debuts in Manchester, where Iron-Awe 5 won a melee, flipping Cherub out of the arena, while Iron-Awe 7 competed in a tag team match, immobilising Ceros before breaking down itself, Iron-Awe's team losing the battle altogether due to Crushtacean breaking down. In the last ever Robot Wars live event, Iron-Awe 5 defeated Beast and Iron Heart 88, fighting Iron Heart 88 again later on, in a battle with Mangler, but was defeated by Ripper. Iron-Awe 7 managed to throw Behemoth out of the arena.

Although the earlier incarnations had relatively little success, the team's later robots, most notably Iron-Awe 5, have risen to UK fame, with the latter winning the 2008 and 2010 UK Championships and becoming one of the few robots to win the championship twice. Iron-Awe was particularly active at Roaming Robots, Robots Live! and Extreme Robots events, with each version's highlights detailed below.

While it was initially meant to have a front-hinged flipper, Iron-Awe 3 was then hastily revised to have a rear-hinged flipper after the front-hinged flipper was found to be not powerful enough. Built in 2004, it featured rolled edges on the flipper. Team Iron-Awe 3 did well with this version finishing runner-up in the Roaming Robots 2006 Winter Tour to Behemoth and also winning the Robot Rumble 2007. It was sold to Team Wind Power in 2007, under Team Wind Power, it was renamed L and then White Knight. In April 2016, White Knight was sold again, this time to Team Shock who have renamed it Earthquake and competed with it at live Robot Wars and Robots Live! events, throwing Behemoth out of the arena in one battle.

Iron-Awe 4

Iron-Awe 4

Iron-Awe 4 as Orrion

In 2005, Iron-Awe 2.1 was deemed to have been worn out and was rebuilt into Iron-Awe 4. Iron-Awe 4 was smaller than Iron-Awe 2.1 but still armed with a flipper and an axe. It was sold to Team Orr and renamed Orrion in 2009 to replace Team Orr's retired heavyweight, Golden Eye. It competed in two events in 2009- Robots Live! and the UK Championship of that year, but has not competed since.

Iron-Awe 5

Iron-Awe 5

Iron-Awe 5 was built in 2006 following the success of Iron-Awe 3. Iron-Awe 5 featured a modular construction to make it easy to repair, and became notable for using its powerful flipper to throw five robots out of the arena in a single battle. Iron-Awe 5 won the 2008 and 2010 UK Championships, becoming the third robot to reclaim the UK Championship title after Chaos 2 and Terrorhurtz.

Iron-Awe 6

Iron-Awe 6

After the success of Iron-Awe 5 in 2007/8, the team built Iron-Awe 6. It featured the same modular construction as before and had rolled edges like the ones on Iron-Awe 3 for extra strength. Iron Awe 6 was originally painted yellow like its predecessor, but was soon re-painted red like Axe-Awe, presumably to avoid confusion with its predeccesor. In the five years since being built, Iron-Awe 6's flipper never ran out of CO2 in a battle. It managed to flip itself out of the arena during the 2011 UK Championship at the O2 Arena. In June 2013, Iron-Awe 6 was retired, and its internal components were used for the new Ripper, but was restored and made a comeback appearance in Maidstone in 2016. It is now the team's most active robot in 2017, and has been repainted yellow, distinguished by its toothed wedge. In its first 2017 event, it fought Eruption in a head-to-head battle, but lost mobility.

Iron-Awe 7

Iron-Awe 7

Iron-Awe 7 made its debut in July 2013 at the Robot Wars Live! Newport UK Championship. Iron-Awe 7 has a wide flipper, much like the new version of Ripper. Like all the other models of Iron-Awe, Iron-Awe 7 has a toothy grin and eyes decoration. It and Iron-Awe 5 usually compete at the same events.

In 2009, one of the later Iron-Awe robots, Iron-Awe 5, was inducted into The Combat Robot Hall of Fame. Its induction resulted from its success in the 2008 UK Championships, 19-battle winning streak and flipping 33 opponents out of the arena at live events in its first year of competition.[4]